Bilirubin
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Posts posted by Bilirubin
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Was the guild advertised as "PvP only"? One of the reasons I joined my guild was that it is both PvP and PvE, running OPs and FPS, with WZs in between. It might be that your guild is just not interested in raid progression.
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Ran HM EV last night, and now that I am used to the spec things went really well, with no deaths. I find I am simply not using project except in my 1v1 against the Council so I may try your spec that drops those points. Like!
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I would like to request a disconnect between HM and NiM OPs.
Right now, our guild is running normal mode ops and NiM each week, one for the new 50s and one for the better geared folks. Intermediately geared folks are basically stuck; we aren't geared sufficiently for NiM, and because of the lock out we can't run HMs to get the needed Rakata pieces. This is creating a gear, and subsequent participation, gap within the guild (at least from my perspective, as an intermediately geared player).
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Corso totally gave me a brofist when I nailed that rich girl on Nar Shaddaa.
Game bugged at that point and I got +135 Corso affection TWICE for that
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Leveled as KC, recently switched to Balance to get more Ops time (since we are a little tank heavy). Easy mode, was able to solo most heroic 2+s
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Our guild is a little tank heavy so I recently respecced Balance after playing Kinetic since early access. In my tank gear I was able to tank a HM FP with little difficulty, although it was not optimal in combat stance. Balance seems to be a good option for picking up adds though with the AoE FiB causing a bleed down in add health. I'm just getting used to the spec but so far I am really enjoying it.
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Also, for daily questing, do you run Balance with a tank or healer? Tried Nadia, found quickly that would not work, and am now playing with Iresso, but 'm wondering how I'd do with Tharen
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Yeah... you really shouldn't be having to tank. You don't have near the survivability of a specced tank, and your damage is cut down too. You'll actually have less damage in Combat Technique than a Kinetic Shadow. But I guess if your choices are "tank" or "get replaced", there's not much you can do. There has to be a Guardian or Vanguard in your group that you can make tank, though, isn't there?
Its just ironic that as soon as I spec DPS to get in more Ops action no tanks show up for HM FPs. Did get to DPS HM False Emperor last night, and we went reasonably well. I ran low on force at one point, but a saber strike or two put things right (and as you mentioned procced Force Strike quickly).
Procced Shadow Strike is definitely worth it. They only cost 2 force more than Double Strike but do more damage. However, I'd recommend saving Shadow Strike until Force Strikes is unavailable. While you have a chance to proc, you want to use skills with multiple hits.I don't use it for two reasons. The first is that there are other defensive/utility talents I really want. The second is laziness. I'm out of space on my bars, so I don't want to deal with that. I also don't want to have to fit it into my rotation, and I like not having to bother with the positioning as much. I usually end up behind the enemy anyways (to avoid frontal AoE), but without Shadow Strike it's not 100% necessary.
Glad I could help
Lots of food for thought. Definitely will start playing around with the spec now that I'm more comfortable with it. Its super fun, after playing KC up till now (but that was really useful to introduce me to MMOs in general; I'm a FPS player at heart).
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I hope this (massive wall of text) helped a bit.
Massively, thanks! The only thing I am left wondering is whether in a boss fight the procced Shadow Strikes might be worth the force spent since they hit like trucks (and I am usually DPSing bosses from the side to behind). Going to try and experiment some, and hope I don't have to tank again tonight to make it meaningful (since taking Combat Technique changes procs so wildly).
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Yeah, Project is fine in short, fast fights where force management isn't an issue. It burns up lots of force for nice burst, and as long as you don't run out before the fight's over that's a positive DPS gain. But in any group PvE content, especially boss fights, it's usually a bad idea.
Expertise is an exceptionally bad talent, regardless of build. Look at how much damage your Force Technique does. It's well under 200. That means that Expertise is giving you less than 12 damage every two seconds or so. We're talking an increase of something like 4 DPS. Those points would be far better spent in either Shadowy Veil or Resilience.
Also, you should consider Double-Bladed Saber Defense. Lots of people out there aren't a fan of the talent, but I actually like it. Especially if you end up off-tanking or use a shield, that can be as much as 25% more force regeneration, as well as increased defenses. It's of dubious worth in PvP, but lots of PvE attacks are weapon damage. Even in PvP, I'm a fan of a 1/25 chance to completely ignore the damage and effects from many common attacks.
I actually run with this 8/2/31 build, and I notice a large increase in survivability from when I used to use this 7/3/31 build. My DPS, especially in melee range, is slightly lower, but I'm okay with that. I can'd do DPS if I'm not alive. This is also good for me since I PvP as much as if not more than I PvE. Not having to worry about Infiltration Tactics/Shadow Strike freed up space on my bars and made my rotations easier to handle.
OK, now that I have had some experience playing Balance, could you go over your rotation without project? I assume you also don't bother with proccing Shadow Strike? So you would focus on DoTs, Double Strike, and Mind Crush?
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I really dont understand why more people don't play balance its a blast and the Dmg is top notch
This.
Since I respecced Balance for PvE I've been having mucho fun learning the ins and outs of proper rotations. If I hit someone in PvP with all three of my DoTs, they die, its just a matter of time. Its a very different play style compared with KC, and vive la differance!
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I corrected the Handbook to a more updated version of the Balance Shadow.
Thanks for your efforts!
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Well compared to what I was getting as KC, it was at least 1000 damage higher than the best I recall seeing. Let me bask in the fantasy of having a decent burst for at least a day eh?
The really nice upshot to this build was that, even not being an ideal tank, we managed to take down Malgus on the stairs. Those DoTs really add up over the length of a fight.
Going to seriously consider what you have been saying too, since I do do the odd PvP. Having already respecced twice this week, I may hold off until next week when things get cheaper again (although my second respec was only 1200 creds, but still).
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Thanks. Interestingly this is the first I've seen of this "standard" build. I wound up going with this build, which I found in both the Handbook and the Balance specific threads. In playing through the Belsavis dailies I found everything went fine, but in a HM FP later that evening I did wind up force starved (but that was because, as soon as I specced DPS, I was asked to tank!
) Consequently I took a shield instead of my nice new Rakata focus. I will definitely keep an eye on how project messes with force availability and consider moving some points around if so.Its a very interesting play style, and as soon as I get used to the new procs to watch for, expect to do huge damage (have already critted once for 3K, which was very nice).
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Hi all,
Been playing a KC tank exclusively, but my guild is tank heavy
so I am contemplating a change to a DPS spec in order to get involved with the HM/NiM operations. I am considering going Balance since it is the highest DPS Shadow. I would appreciate any and all thoughts you might have on what my best options might be. -
Bump for the outstanding information. And because I was looking for it last night and found it unstickied
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So, I'm torn between wearing the Centurion boots for the +35 expertise, or my Columi for huge bumps (like +45 to +50) to both Will and End. I'm mostly decked out in Cent with some Champion bits for PvP, and have nearly full Columi for raiding. Can'thelp but feeling like I'm a tad too squishy with these Cent boots, despite the expertise bump, and going back to the better protection. Kinetic FWIW.
Opinions? How important is that bump to expertise? As it is it still would only put me to 365.
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Why should raids be the best/fastest/most efficient path to advancement?
I'll tell you why. Because if it were not, interest in raids would drop off a cliff. But maybe that should tell us something.
As I said in the pre-launch forums, no one likes raiding. What they like is getting the best gear. If it weren't there, people wouldn't do it.
Nonsense. I love raiding, and doing HM flashpoints. It's the increase in the challenge, and the teamwork, all rolled into one. I want to gear up, yes, but that is so I can take the step up to the next level of content difficulty. What the leveling has been for me is a training ground to get me to this point (plus some decent stories).
Some of us like doing the content simply because its there to be done. That is all the motivation necessary.
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I have tanked both False Emperor and Taral V in HM, wearing Columi mixed Survivor and Force Master, with a Tionese shield and champion implant and relic (until I got a nice epic tanking relic that dropped partway through the FP). I had done neither but my guild mates talked me through each battle, and they went pretty well. Getting the hang of it, am having little trouble keep aggro (as long as the healer is guarded), and my health is usually easily topped off allowing the healer to toss in a little DPS. Good fun!
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I'm always so confused when people complain about weak classes. Seriously, if you spent less time crying and more time trying to learn your class you might not suck as much.
This. I've been having a ton of fun with all my alts but am surprised to come here and learn that they are all weak and under powered. All of them? OK.
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Cunning over End over everything else, got it. So when offered a choice between Gunslinger and Deadeye mods, as a low level SS I'm taking the Deadeye right?
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Preferences -> User Interface -> Quickbars -> Enable Cover Bar
Thank you muchly.
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My Twi'lek Jedi cannot wear hoods, but with most headgear the lekku clip through no problem. However, I have one orange headpiece that I use for raiding (modded with lots of end game purples) that removes my lekku entirely, making me look like any old human in a bondage mask. Er, yeah. That's what my guild calls it. No zipper fortunately. No mouth unfortunately.
Its the only one that does that and I have NFI why
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How do I turn it off? I'm happy to have all of my quick bars on (wide screen and all), I just want what I put where to stay there; the ability can wink on or off all it wants, but if it messes with the key I've bound to a particular spot I get annoyed.
) Consequently I took a shield instead of my nice new Rakata focus. I will definitely keep an eye on how project messes with force availability and consider moving some points around if so.
so I am contemplating a change to a DPS spec in order to get involved with the HM/NiM operations. I am considering going Balance since it is the highest DPS Shadow. I would appreciate any and all thoughts you might have on what my best options might be.
HM FPs since most recent patch
in Flashpoints, Operations, and Heroic Missions
Posted
Just ran False Emperor for the first time since patch update on Tuesday, and it gave us no end of problems that I for one had never encountered. The second boss's ship was on warp speed, and the best was perhaps getting force shoved by Malgus off the stair area and *into* the base of his throne, where I had to /stuck. This is after having ran this FP successfully 5-6 times on HM, including one kill on the stairs before he solo fought everyone in the party.
Did the patch significantly up the difficulty? Have I simply been lucky up to now not encountering known bugs? Has something broken in the recent patch?